Cogswell's Grant II
American Folk Art Museum, Essex, Massachusetts
In 1635 Charles I of England granted John Cogswell, a London merchant, a large tract of land in what is now Essex Massachusetts, perhaps as recompense for settling in the new world of New England.
About three hundred years later, in 1937, Bertram and Nina Fletcher Little purchased Cogswell’s Grant. The Little’s were preeminent collectors of American decorative & folk art in the mid-20th century. The 18th century farmhouse on the property became their summer home. Over the years they filled it with American folk art, described in the museum's literature as follows:
Portraits, red-ware pottery, painted furniture, scrimshaw, wood carvings, decoys and sculptures, hooked rugs and other textiles are showcased throughout. The collection is displayed exactly as the family lived with it and shared it with their friends and fellow collectors.
In 1984, the Littles bequeathed their property, complete with the house, its contents and associated records to the non-profit, Historic New England, which maintains it as a museum open to the public.
From Wikipedia comes this interesting footnote: John Cogswell and his wife Elizabeth Thompson left many notable descendants, among them Oliver Wendell Holmes, John Adams, Margaret Mead, Tennessee Williams and Princess Diana.
For more photos of the land around the house, see my earlier project, Cogswell's Grant.
